Neoen SA will start construction on Australia’s biggest solar farm after winning a power purchase agreement with Queensland state’s renewables company. The Paris-based company will invest A$570 million ($366 million) in the Western Downs Green Power Hub, with first electricity from the facility expected in the first quarter of 2022. As much as to three-quarters of the energy produced by the plant will be taken by CleanCo, making up more than 30% of its target for 1 gigawatt of renewable generation by 2025. “The electricity produced by Western Downs solar farm will complement CleanCo’s hydro energy production and it will be our first project in Queensland,” said Louis de Sambucy, head of Neoen Australia.
The Western Downs Green Power Hub will have a capacity of 460 to 480 megawatts and generate about 1,080 gigawatt-hours of electricity a year, enough to power 235,000 homes. Neoen has about 3 gigawatts of renewable capacity in operation or under construction around the world, and also own the Hornsdale Power Reserve in South Australia, home of the world’s biggest lithium-ion battery.